Sims Achieves State "A" in Decathlon
After a day one that saw him finish in fifth place, sophomore Zachary Sims came within one event of placing inside the top 8 and on the podium at the 2023 Northern California Championship. In placing ninth overall in the field of twelve athletes, Sims did achieve the State "A" mark with his 5290 point score. Should athletes ahead of him pass on competing in the decathlon at the CCCAA State Championship, Sims would be eligible to take the spot based on his score.
To start his day two, Sims did lower his 110mHH mark to 17.62, his first mark under 18 seconds. The time got him 561 points and after six events was still averaging over 600 points per event. Unfortunately, a sector foul and cage foul on his first two attempts in the discus forced Sims to take a safety throw for points well below his season best. His mark of 19.74m was only worth 267 points. With pole vault still a new event for Sims, he did manage to clear 2.55m, a new personal best, but only worth 253 points. He would rebound with an outstanding javelin mark of 52.70m which was three meters further than any of the other decahtletes and brought him 629 points. He would finish the day with a personal best 5:27.08 in the 1500 meters. In just his second decathlon, Sims did produce seven personal best in events within the decathlon competition and gained some valuable multi-event experience toward his future.
Sims will now join the Panthers at the Johnny Mathis Invitational at San Francisco State University on Saturday.
